Cedevita had turned to Jaksa Vulic as an interim coach but he remained in charge only for six days, coaching the team in Sunday's 58-55 defeat away to Partizan in the Adriatic League on Sunday.

Following his highly decorated playing career both with Yugoslavia and Cibona, where he won the Euroleague title alongside his late brother Drazen in 1985, Petrović took over as the coach of Cedevita's local rivals in 1991.

He was put in charge of the national team only three years later and led Croatia to the bronze medal at EuroBasket 1995.

At club level however, his finest hour as coach came during his first spell at Cedevita, in 2011.

The 53-year-old Croatian tactician was voted Coach of the Year in the Eurocup after taking the Zagreb club to the Final Four of the competition on a shoestring budget.

He resigned his post however after losing in the Croatian league play-off finals and was handed the reins of Bosnia and Herzegovina in February 2012.

Under the Sibenik-born coach, the Bosnians not only earned a place at EuroBasket 2013 but also turned heads with their free-flowing game style last summer.

They scored more points than any other team in the Qualification Round, 92.1 per game, and topped Group D with a 6-2 record.

Petrovic now faces the challenging task of taking Cedevita to the Top 16 of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague from a disadvantageous position.

Cedevita are in fifth place with a 2-5 record three weeks before the conclusion of the Regular Season in the competition.

In the Adriatic League, Cedevita are tied in second place with Buducnost and Red Star with a 6-4 record.